Was Jesus Tempted With Homosexuality?

Since Jesus "in every respect has been tempted as we are," does that mean he was tempted with homosexuality?

You know, this statement—"tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sin"—is troubling, because there are a lot of things you could think of besides this one. This is a real difficult question for me. I'll come back to homosexuality in a minute.

I think some of my worst temptations come from situations I've created by sinning. Jesus never got into a situation created by sinning. Jesus never felt guilt. I think a lot of my temptations are owing to what I do with my guilt feelings, so how is he going to empathize with me there? So this is not an academic question for me.

Here is my best shot at what Hebrews meant when it said "tempted in every respect." Surely he knows that Jesus didn't face every objective kind of situation we face. He meant kinds of temptation, dynamics of temptation. And then the final answer for me is that on the cross the sins of the world went onto Jesus in ways that are, I would say, incomprehensible.

The temptation of homosexual behavior went onto Jesus at the cross. And he felt it. He owned it. He knew it. And he himself, in that moment, didn't sin. He became sin. God counted him as a sinner, but he didn't sin.

I don't know if that's the best solution or not. I'm just trying to deal with the extent of sinfulness in the world, and the complexities of temptation in the world. And Jesus lived a pretty narrow little life on earth: just three years of ministry in a Jewish context.

I would just say that, in his life, things came at Jesus that are more than we know. And on the cross, everything came at him. And he dealt with it in an obedient way.

That's why it says that Father regarded the Son's offering as a fragrant aroma in Ephesians 5:1-2. He looked upon his Son not only as bearing the sins of the world, and thus his own wrath; but he looked upon his Son as an obedient son that he was very very proud of.

John Piper (@JohnPiper) is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is author of more than 50 books.

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